You can also cook and eat eggs that don't from a chicken, like those from ants! This recipe celebrates The Ant-Man and the Wasp movie in that there's honey in these scrambled ant eggs. Of all the eggs in the world you can eat besides those that come from a chicken, why would I pick ants when I could easily procure a quail, emu, or ostrich egg? Well, my inspiration was the aforementioned movie above but more than that was the fact the first thing that came to my mind when it came to eating ants were their eggs. Sure, I could've got queen weaver ants, weaver ants, canned black ants, or weaver ant eggs, but black ant eggs were in stock on Bizarre Food.com's website. What are black ant eggs used for traditionally anyway? Well, according to Bizarre Food.com's description: "Wild black ant eggs (polyrhachis sp) have been used in Chinese medicine for centuries, they are believed to help improve the immune system and reduce fatigue. They are also said to have many other health benefits. Black ants are also high in protein. They are commonly prepared by infusing with alcohol and left to steep for several days before before consuming. They can also be used in various food dishes, they have a slightly acidic taste so they go well with salads." I didn't taste anything acidic whatsoever. For the purposes of making scrambled eggs that came from ants, preserved weaver ant eggs would've been a better choice, as they're not already boiled and dehydrated, unlike the black ant eggs I used. You have to rehydrate the eggs and then put them in the frying pan, but only cooking them for 15 seconds at most. Even then, the consistency was crunchy but it reminded me of the burnt stuff still on the stove after making multiple batches of pancakes. The taste itself was pretty neutral, but that's probably because I poured honey onto the ant eggs as they were cooking. Sweets or spicy ingredients tend to make insects palatable. The eggs looked pretty cool when I opened the bag. They looked like chocolate sprinkles, so if you're a sociopath, you could probably prank somebody by putting this on top of their ice cream in lieu of actual chocolate sprinkles. The eggs had a grassy smell to them, so they probably would've tasted grassy in their boiled, dehydrated, ready-to-eat state. My dad didn't try this recipe for obvious reasons as he's not an insect eater unlike moi. HELPFUL LINK: Black Ant Eggs You will need: For the cooking equipment: A large bowl A frying pan A spatula For the ingredients: 10 grams boiled and dried black ant eggs(see HELPFUL LINK) 2 tsp. water Olive oil for frying Honey Serve with: Ketchup Toast Honey on the side 1. Put the eggs in the large bowl and the water. Mix the two together to rehydrate the eggs. 2. Pour olive oil into a frying pan and turn the stove on to heat the oil up. Pour the rehydrated eggs into the frying pan and pour honey on top of them. 3. Scramble the eggs for 15 seconds before turning the stove off and scrambling them a few seconds more. 4. Serve with toast, ketchup, and some honey on the side.
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My co-worker at my day job went on vacation in Florida and knowing I love eating insects, got me Crick-ettes and Larvets, which are seasoned crickets and worms, respectively that are found at tourist attractions for the sheer gross factor of eating bugs. But yes, these bugs are edible but most people try them just as a dare or to brag that they've eaten insects, not because they taste good. Well I think they taste good- as long as they're dipped in Korean BBQ sauce. At the time, I had an extra canned oven-bake tarantula, which is a thing, and i saw this video of these two guys eating disgusting fruitcake variations and I decided to make my own bug fruitcakes this Christmas. This recipe is perfect if you want to give this to someone you really, really don't like since, you know, fruitcakes are given to people that are hated by the gift giver, not because they taste good(side note: I love eating fruitcake). Why did I make mini bug fruitcakes? Well, for one, edible insects don't come cheap like more conventional protein sources do since no physical, IRL store carries them at the moment(save for those tourist traps that sell Larvets and Crick-ettes) and second, certain bugs don't stand well in the heat oven very well, like the big bugs(beetle, tarantula, and waterbug). The smaller bugs really shouldn't be baking for a long time either since they burn faster then other protein sources when cooked. Mini baked goods cook faster than regular-sized ones. But nevertheless, two of these bug fruitcakes are enough for a meal. These bug fruitcakes reminded me of a corn muffin or cornbread in the texture and consistency of it, with the extreme crunchiness and grass-like flavor from the bugs, which even I find a little off-putting. However, Korean BBQ sauce hides the grass-like flavor and pairs well with insects. The thing about the bigger edible insects is that they need to be consumed within a day of opening them, otherwise they'll go stale, as I learned when I ate the beetle two days after baking the bug fruitcakes. No, these bug fruitcakes won't last 100 years, maybe 4 days at the most and that's really pushing it. My dad kind of felt horrified watching me eat these insects, so it's no surprise he didn't try this recipe. Warning: These bugs I used have been cleaned, boiled and dehydrated and then seasoned with salt, so don't pick up any ordinary insects and use them in this recipe! HELPFUL LINKS: Larvets: hotlix.com/candy/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=97 Crick-ettes: hotlix.com/candy/index.php?route=product/product&path=96&product_id=103 Mixed bugs: www.bizarrefood.com/mixed-edible-insects-bugs Beetle and waterbug: www.bizarrefood.com/edible-insect-jungle-trial-mix?search=trial Tarantula: www.bizarrefood.com/canned-edible-tarantula-spider Makes 7 bug fruitcakes You will need: For the cooking equipment: A large bowl A 12-hole muffin tin 7 Muffin liners Nonstick cooking spray For the bug fruitcakes: 1/4 cup all-purpose flour 1/3 cup slivered almonds 5 oz. sweetened condensed milk 1 beaten and whisked egg 1/3 tsp. baking soda 2/3 cup crushed corn flakes 1.9 grams Larvets(see HELPFUL LINKS) 1 gram Crick-ettes(see HELPFUL LINKS) 15 grams mixed bugs (see HELPFUL LINKS) 4 prunes 1 oven-baked tarantula(see HELPFUL LINKS) 1 waterbug(see HELPFUL LINKS) 1 beetle(see HELPFUL LINKS) Korean BBQ sauce for dipping(highly recommended) 1. Mix the first 9 ingredients together in a large bowl until you get a batter. 2. Line the muffin tin with muffin liners and spray the liners with nonstick cooking spray. 3. Pour the batter 2/3 of the way in each liner. Top 4 of the 7 fruitcakes with a prune. 4. Bake the bug fruitcakes in a 300 degree Fahrenheit oven for 20-25 minutes. 5. Top one fruitcake with a tarantula, a second with a waterbug, and the last one with a beetle. Serve with Korean BBQ sauce(highly recommended). |
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